haylstorme

Self Care, Self Love, Self Growth

Breaking old habits is hard, there is no simpler way to put it. Once something has become your ‘norm’ it’s hard to push past what you know and change the way you go about your day to day life. Your social habits, works habits, processing, organization, exercise, eating and sleeping habits, all have a key role in your physical and mental states.

I’ll admit I’ve been overlooking myself these last few months, focusing more on others and forgetting to think about myself and my own needs; a lot of people are guilty for it, but it’s time to focus on us.

Let’s talk about self care for one— there’s so many different ways you can care for yourself, mentally, physically and spiritually and some fields require more work than others, depending on your personal needs. I know myself I need to focus on my mental and physical well being; by doing this I’m hoping to learn how to care for my mind and body in a way that caters to me on a daily basis.

Focusing my self care to my needs mentally, this blog has helped me a ton. Having an outlet to write is absolutely amazing and knowing people are reading what I’ve written makes me so happy and it inspires me to continue writing; it’s something I’ve been working towards for a long time. For more personal writings – like my poetry and other entries – I have a small (very big actually) collection of journals where I gather my thoughts. Sometimes they are forgotten about, but most times I go back and read them for reference on how I was feeling at that point and how I helped myself push past it. Another way you can cater to your needs mentally is finding hobbies to invest yourself in— sure it’s great scrolling through social media in your downtime but it gets tiring. Finding a creative outlet – like picking up an instrument, drawing, painting whatever you want really – and watching yourself progress and get better is extremely satisfying.

In the way of mental care as well, starting to talk to a therapist or school counsellor could help so much as well. Having someone unbiased to talk through your thoughts and situations could help a lot too.As for my physical needs I’ve been trying to eat healthier and stay active as much as possible. Honestly some days I celebrate myself for eating baby carrots instead of chips and having a little dance party in my room as exercise. You don’t have to go full out everyday just find things that you enjoy doing – swimming, running, dancing, hiking, and if you like cooking or baking try looking on pinterest for healthier recipes or switching out 2% milk for skim or soy milk, taking out sugar and adding honey to a recipe – there are so many options out there for you to try, not everything has to be a drastic change, baby steps are just as good as giant leaps.

Also for your physical self care, remembering to take medications prescribed to you or recommended to you by your physician is very important. You are on them for a reason, please do not forget to take them; set alarms, or several if you have to, tell your friends to remind you if you really can’t seem to remember but it’s such an important thing to do.

LET’S TALK SELF LOVE THE BEST KIND OF LOVE! Learning to love yourself is key on the road to helping yourself; but it’s also the hardest part for a lot of people. I will be truthful and admit that right now at this point in my life, I don’t love myself, but it’s something I am working on everyday — like I said, baby steps.

Once again learning to self love is different for every person but it always comes with time and it will be a struggle. You have to remember though, you are your own worst critic; let yourself slip up, nobody is perfect.

Self love can be shown in many different ways, you can start by trying to accept things as they are, the things you are able to change and the things you are not. Allowing yourself the opportunity to be happy and a little more carefree, or at least giving yourself the option to be, is liberating.

THINGS YOU CAN CHANGE/FIX:

Your style

Your hair

The people you surround yourself with

Your living situation

Your job

Your eating habits

Your exercise routine

Your bed clothes

Your day to day routine

Your opinions/outlooks

The socks you’re wearing

THINGS YOU CAN’T CHANGE/FIX:

Other people

Other people’s opinions

Other people’s mistakes

The president of the United States

Your friend’s relationship problems

Other people’s problems

There comes a point where you have to let go of the negative vibes you are holding onto, all the things you can’t change right now. Don’t dwell on what you can’t do but what you can, and start ticking those things off your list. Make a list! Lists are fun! Then each time you accomplish something new, treat yourself, with candy or fuzzy socks or puppy cuddles or whatever you want just make sure to remember to celebrate the little things as though they are big things because one small accomplishment is better than no accomplishments at all. And just saying, I’m already proud of you.

Last but not least, self growth. I cannot wait to be able to recognize the change in myself. The change in my mental and physical health, the changes in my outlooks on life, the changes in the vibes and impressions I put out into the world. I think that’s what’s motivating me to make so many changes in my life, I want there to be a point where I can look back at all the things I accomplished and hold myself accountable for actually completing them. I want to look back and be proud of myself for overcoming the self negativity and doubt that I’ve been putting myself through. I’m prepared for a change and if you are too, we can do it together.

A LIST OF THINGS I’M READY TO ACCOMPLISH:

Get my stupid licence

Go back to school

Stop doubting what I want to do with my life

Love my body

Love my mind

Surround myself with positive people

Be a positive that others can be surrounded and supported by

What are you ready to accomplish?

Also a list of more self love / self care suggestions sent in by my pals:

Cuddling pups and kittens

Getting a good night’s sleep

Make sure to eat good amounts throughout the day

Treating yourself

A good skincare routine

Keeping yourself fresh and clean

Staying hydrated

Pamper yourself (face masks, bubble baths and movie nights)

Make plans centered around you and do things you love

Save goofy and funny videos to go to when you’re feeling blue

Reflect on your day and write down good things that happened

Meditate/yoga

Take the bad days with the good and realize they help along your path to self growth

Surround yourself with good vibes (keep your space clean and keep out negativity)

I love the message you’re bringing across here. I truly think the most important relationship we’ll ever have is the one with ourselves so it is good to be reminded of putting more effort into self-love. A good skincare routine can make me glow, inside and out. Just makes me so happy, as does good music or a good book. Thanks for this lovely post on the gloomy Thursday. Exactly what I needed!

Would you by any chance be interested in sharing your thoughts on our platform, Creators.co? I think our ever-growing community would love to read what you have to say. Feel free to shoot me an e-mail if you’d be keen on becoming a Creator. Hope to hear from you.